- Title: Nigerian police say eight Boko Haram suspects confess to Chibok abduction
- Date: 18th July 2018
- Summary: MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA (JULY 18, 2018) (REUTERS) SUSPECTED MEMBERS OF ISLAMIST MILITANT GROUP BOKO HARAM SITTING ON FLOOR SUSPECTS SITTING AND OTHERS STANDING BEHIND VARIOUS OF SUSPECTS LOOKING ON SUSPECTS SITTING, OTHER STANDING BEHIND, SEIZED GUNS LYING ON TABLE SEIZED GUNS ON TABLE (SOUNDBITE) (English) POLICE COMMISSIONER FOR BORNO STATE, DAMIAN CHUKWU, SAYING: "(Boko Hara
- Embargoed: 1st August 2018 18:54
- Keywords: Chibok girls Boko Haram Chibok abduction Boko Haram arrests Chibok schoolgirls Chibok arrests Boko Haram militant group
- Location: MAIDUGURI, ABUJA, BORNO, NIGERIA / UNKNOWN LOCATION
- City: MAIDUGURI, ABUJA, BORNO, NIGERIA / UNKNOWN LOCATION
- Country: Nigeria
- Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Insurgencies
- Reuters ID: LVA0018P9Z03R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: PART QUALITY AS INCOMING
Eight suspected members of Islamist militant group Boko Haram have confessed to involvement in the 2014 abduction of some 270 girls from the town of Chibok, the Nigeria Police Force said on Wednesday (July 18).
Damian Chukwu, police commissioner for Borno State, said 22 suspected members of the militant group, including three commanders and two logistic suppliers, were arrested in different locations in the neighbouring northeastern states of Yobe and Borno.
Nigerian authorities have convicted this year two alleged Boko Haram members to 15 and 20 years in prison for their purported role in the kidnapping of the Chibok girls. The convictions are part of mass trials of more than 1,600 suspected members of the insurgency. Rights groups had criticised the court hearings for their secretive nature, with initial trials held behind closed doors.
The mass abduction of girls from their school caused global outrage and drew attention to the militant group which has killed more than 30,000 people since 2009 in an insurgency aimed at creating an Islamic state in northeast Nigeria. Many of the Chibok girls managed to escape in the hours following their abduction or were released in the last few years, including 82 who were released in an exchange deal that included several imprisoned senior members of Boko Haram. But around 100 are still missing and their condition is unknown. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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